Typically a user of a mobile phone has registered with or subscribed to a service provider, which in most cases also issues the mobile phone. In subscribing to the service provider, a specific agreement or service plan is set forth as to the charges for mobile phone usage. In some cases a monthly fee is charged, which may provide the user with limited usage lengths during some specified times of the day, and may also provide unlimited usage lengths during other specified times of the day. Should a user exceed any limited usage length, the user is typically billed an extra amount in addition to the standard monthly fee. This extra amount is sometimes significant, and typically correlates to the amount of time the user exceeded the limited usage specified in the service plan of the service provider. Thus, an owner of a mobile phone pays close attention to the time of day the phone is used and the length of time it is in use.
For example, when a person borrows the mobile phone of another, the usage information relating to the call is attributable to the account of the owner on the subscribed service provider, and not an account of the borrower. When the usage information exceeds lengths specified in the service plan of the owner, the owner is charged for the extra time. In borrowing a landline telephone, this problem may be solved through the use of a collect call. Currently, mobile phones have no such solution.
Furthermore, when borrowing a mobile phone, the personal settings on the mobile phone, such as, for example, an address book, are those of the owner and not the borrower. Thus, if the borrower owns a mobile phone, any personal settings or information stored on the borrower's mobile phone are not accessible from the borrowed mobile phone. This contributes to the personalization of a mobile phone to a single user and the difficulty in borrowing a mobile phone.
Mobile phones have become personalized to such an extent that they are unable to be borrowed without negative consequences for the owner of the mobile phone and the borrower of the mobile phone.